The lawyer for Brandon Keathley, the former sheriff’s deputy accused of assaulting another officer in 2020, is arguing for a change of venue due to pretrial publicity.
Richmond County Superior Court Judge Jesse Stone heard arguments Tuesday in attorney Jacque Hawk’s motion for a change of venue.
Hawk also argued for prospective jurors to be questioned individually about their knowledge of the case, which is scheduled for trial May 19.
It’s one of several from which Augusta Circuit District Attorney Jared Williams recused himself due to his previous work for Hawk’s law firm. Former Augusta DA Natalie Paine, now chief assistant DA for Columbia County, was assigned the conflict case.
Keathley was indicted in December 2020 for aggravated assault and aggravated assault on a police officer for striking fellow deputy Nicholas Nunes in the head with a flashlight. Assaulting a police officer carries a mandatory five-year prison sentence.
The incident took place at a shooting scene where Nunes reportedly tried to take over administering first aid to the victim, who later died.
The case was widely reported in the media when it occurred and for several months afterward. Then-sheriff Richard Rountree called it “embarrassing” but declined to terminate or bring criminal charges against Keathley.
Paine disagreed and took the case to the grand jury, which returned the indictments.
Hawk, who presented the court with copies of news articles and videos about the episode, said Tuesday the case had had a large amount of pretrial publicity, but that the only way to discern jurors’ exposure to it had an “enormous” amount of pretrial publicity,
Paine said only by interviewing prospective jurors would the court be able to determine if they had been influenced.
Stone reserved ruling on the motions. of pretrial publicity.
Keathley remained on leave with pay for several years while the indictment was pending. Under the new administration of Sheriff Gino Brantley, he was let go through attrition Jan. 1.
